VERTEX Plus GPS CollarsThe ultimate tool for wildlife scientists in telemetry studies

VERTEX Plus collars are the most advanced and reliable (2-year electronics warranty) GPS collars

in wildlife telemetry from VECTRONICAerospace. They are the next generation of our GPS PLUS

collars.

The new VERTEX hardware takes advantage from improved energy efficiency, true acceleration

logging (activity) and unique proximity applications vs.other collars.

The VERTEX Plus collars are always built

to customer project needs and have a wide

range of options to choose from:

Communication Options

� VHF Beacon

� Iridium 2-way Satellite Communication

� Globalstar 1-way Satellite Communication

� GSM 2-way Communication

� On-site UHF Radio Communication

Sensor Options

� High Resolution 3-Axis acceleration sensorActivity

(with up to 32Hz raw data recording)

� Mortality & Hibernation Sensor

� Temperature Sensor

� Video Camera (contact us for further details)

Battery and Drop Off Options

� Several battery sizes and shapes

� Integrated radio and timer Drop Offs

� User replacable batteries

External Sensors (Proximity Application)

� Customizable UHF ID Tags for species interaction

� Expandable collars for offspring survival studies

� Stationary UHF ID Tags for e.g. road crossings

� Vaginal Implant Transmitter for parturition events

� Mortality Implant Transmitter for instant mortality detection

Wolfpack in Finland wearing round shaped

VECTRONIC GPS collars.

by Seppo Ronkainen

Round shapedVERTEX Plus

collar with 3D

battery pack and

cotton break-away.

GPS Collars made in Germany since 2000

VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH

12489 Berlin

Germany

1 Activity triggered GPS schedule:

(acceleration exceeds user-defined threshold)

2 Virtual Fence GPS schedule:

(animal enters or leaves a defined area)*

3 Proximity triggered GPS schedule:

(animal gets close to a UHF ID tag)

4 Mortality triggered GPS schedule:

(additional GPS fixes when the animal died)

GPS Plus X

* possibility to receive notification e-mail or SMS

Drop Offs allow retrieving the collar without having to recapture the animal. All VECTRONIC

Aerospace Drop Offs are integrated into the battery pack, so there are no external parts on the

collar which might get damaged or harm the animal. For increased reliability our Drop Offs are

self contained devices with their own battery. We offer timer release Drop Offs as well as a radio

and timer release version for on-demand release at the study site.

Drop-off

Drop ffOreleasesi ed

Drop ffOreleasesi ed

Integrated radio and timer controlled Drop Off

VECTRONIC Aerospace collars come fully programmed and ready “to go” as part of our

service. However, it is easy to reprogram them locally or remotely using our free and user

friendly software GPS Plus X.

� receive remote communication data automatically with http download

� receive notifications and alerts to your e-mail or mobile phone (mortality, proximity events)

� export your data automatically

� access the same datasets with your colleagues with database structure

� assign collar data to certain animals and groups

� GPS Plus X supports most of the local coordinate systems

� almost all settings can be reprogrammed remotely with GSM and Iridium collars

Interaction with Environment

customized UHF ID tags on reindeer in Sweden

The VERTEX Plus collars can automatically change their GPS positioning interval with

interactive programming. The regular GPS schedule can be changed into more frequent GPS

positioning if one or more of the following events take place:

GPS Collars made in Germany since 2000

VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH

12489 Berlin

Germany

VHF Beacon Transmitter

The VHF Beacon is used for species on-site

tracking and collar retrieval. The VHF Beacon

pattern and schedule can be programmed by

the user.

Iridiumsatellite communication

World wide 24h coverage. Iridium transfers

GPS, mortality and proximity event data. The

data is received by email or H download.TTP

The 2-way communication allows

reconfiguring the collars after they have been

deployed.

Globalstarsatellite communication

This option uses the GLOBALSTAR

SIMPLEX service for data download. GPS

data are sen repeatedly to increase probabilityt

that the message is received by the satellite.

The data is received by email or HTTP

download.

GSM communication

GSM transfers GPS, mortality and proximity

event data using SMS or FDP services. The

data is received by email, download orHTTP

by a GSM groundstation connected to a

computer. The 2-way communication allows

re configuring the collars after THEY have-

been deployed.

UHF 2-way communication

The UHF communication allows you to

communicate with the collar on demand at the

study side. The communication is up to 1 - 2

kilometers depending on the terrain. UHF

communication is required for using the

external sensors (proximity applications).

Activity sensor (new)

Measures true acceleration of the animal on

three axis with up to 32Hz raw dataactivity

recording. The collar now processes and stores

raw data. The data is used to observe activity

and behavioral patterns and is highly detailed to

identify distinct behaviors.

Mortalitydetection

I above a setf no activity has been detected

threshold for a user-defined time, the collar

detects a mortality event and sends a

notification to the researcher. Additionally,

the repetition rate of the VHFre is an user-setup

beacon transmitter.

External sensors (Proximity applications)

The VERTEX Plus collar is able to monitor

external sensors and send messages remotely

about their status. UHF communication is

required in your collar to provide new data on

birth, mortality, body temperature and

interactions between different animals.

Collar Options

val shapedOVERTEX Plus

collar with medium2D battery

( housing)UHF .

GPS Collars made in Germany since 2000

VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH

12489 Berlin

Germany

VERTEX Plus GPS CollarsNext Generation Activity Sensor

The VERTEX Plus collar generation includes a new acceleration sensor for monitoring behavior

and activity. In contrast to previous sensors it records and stores true acceleration raw data. That

enables the researcher to observe not only general activity patterns but to distinguish distinct,

behavior and detailed activity protocols.calculate

� Recording with 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32Hz

(Measurements taken 2, 4... times per second)

� Stor Raw Datae

� On-board conversion to "GPS Plus" activity modes

(optional & additional for data comparability)

� On-board memory capacity for several years

Features

Sensor comparison (old vs. new)

Axis recorded

(x, y, z)

GPS PLUS Activity Sensor

(<2015)

VERTEX Plus Activity Sensor

(>2015)

Data recording4Hz

on 3 axis (x, y, z)

2,4,8,16 or 32 Hz

on 3 axis (x, y, z)

Data processing averaging (mode depending) none

Axis usedmode depending (e.g. Mode1:

1 value for x, y axis every 296s)3 (x, y, z)

Optional data

processingnone conversion to GPS Plus modes

Data storage mode dependingraw data

(+ GPS Plus mode data)

Memory capacitydepending on sampling rate

(e.g. up to 5 years with Mode1)

depending on sampling rate

(e.g. up to 5 years with 8Hz)

Applicationactivity pattern, seasonal

changes, rhythms

+ behaviour recognition (e.g.

grazing, locomotion, vigilance)

The new activity

sensor is available as

an independent add-on

for existing GPS Plus

and Pro Light collars

GPS Collars made in Germany since 2000

VECTRONIC Aerospace GmbH

Berlin, Germany

Phone:+49 30 6789 4990

Fax: +49 30 6789 5230

VECTRONIC Aerospace USA

Iowa, USA

Phone:+1 319 626 2267

Fax: +1 319 626 2268

VECTRONIC Aerospace CA

Ontario, Canada

Phone:+1 905 535 1514

Fax: +1 289 803 2539

www.vectronic-aerospace.com wildlife@vectronic-aerospace.com